Retail PC sales rise up on Chromebook and Mac shipments

As we've said time and again, the PC sector is alive is well. According to NPD Group, retail PC sales grew nearly 3 percent during the 10-week back-to-school shopping season that went from July 4th through Labor Day week), compared to a 2.5 percent decline in the same period a year ago. Where things get interesting is when you break down those sales to look for trends in consumer spending.

Torrent site YTS takes over development of the controversial app

Started as a small experiment by “a bunch of geeks from Buenos Aires”, Popcorn Time emerged out of nowhere on the tech media’s radar earlier this month, earning itself such flattering appellations as the “Netflix for pirates” and attracting scores of collaborators from all over the globe on Github. Despite initially displaying remarkable equanimity in face of questions over the cross-platform, BitTorrent-based movie streaming app’s legality, Popcorn Time’s creators did something very unexpected on Friday by abruptly shutting it down.

A new ad by Microsoft suggests Macs are bad for planning weddings

Microsoft has come under fire for a new advertisement promoting Windows systems over those inferior Macs that lack touchscreens. Short and to the point, the ad says Macs suck for planning weddings because you can't tap the display. Well, you can tap the display, but nothing will happen, and somehow that will hinder a woman's ability to plan out her wedding. Oh yes, did we mention? Microsoft's ad for a touch-friendly all-in-one PC running Windows 8 is targeted at women, and the way it goes about it, some are crying foul.

Worth $50, the Gold Founders Pack includes access to the turn-based MOBA’s closed beta and more

A turn-based multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game is an oxymoron, right? Guess what? Such a game does exist now in the form of Arena of Heroes (PC, Mac and iOS), which developer Sneaky Games recently managed to sneak into the market. An otherwise free-to-play title, the innovative title is currently in closed beta and open only to those who purchase one of the three available Founders Packages that cost between $20 and $120.

Thankfully, Maximum PC has twelve Gold Founder Packs and every intention of giving them away right here, right now on a first-come, first-serve basis. So, without further ado, here’s the first activation code: 43HD2ZFSAMTK3. Hit the jump for the remaining eleven codes.

Linux offers some interesting advantages, but let’s face it, the only consumer alternative to Windows is Mac OSX. Around here we've made our preference for Windows perfectly clear, however we are also excited to welcome the plethora of new users to our preferred platform after these new Mac ads start hitting the TV’s of millions of Olympic viewers around the world.

Well, isn't this amusing and scary at the same time: Orbitz is now starting to show visitors who use Macs different, often higher-priced rooms than their PC-based counterparts because the company's data shows that Mac users tend to spend more on their bookings. While it's easy to poke fun at Apple-ites -- are they gullible or simply high maintenance? -- the report also highlights a possible consequence of having all your online interactions driven by scads of big data.

Microsoft has begun the process of updating the SkyDrive apps for Windows and Mac that it launched last month, the company announced Wednesday. Expected to take a week or so to reach everyone, these updates to the preview versions of SkyDrive for Windows and Mac feature a number of improvements and bug fixes.

The latest Chrome Beta features the ability to sync tabs across multiple devices, Google revealed in a blog post Tuesday. The ability to sync tabs has been a long time coming as far as Chrome is concerned, with Firefox having had it as an integrated feature since the release of version 4 last year. More after the jump.

Psst, hey Windows PC user, come closer. Yes you, the one contemplating a switch to Mac OS X after spending some hands on time with iOS on your iPad or iWhatever. Want to know a dirty little secret? Macs get viruses too! No, really, they do. In fact, over half a million Mac OS X systems are now part of a botnet after becoming infected with the Flashback Trojan horse.